Airbus launches its low-cost factory in Tunisia
19 February 2009
Read by 1410 persons
Aeronautics. The official launch of a future production site with 750 jobs near Tunis has been given. This is the aircraft manufacturer's first low-cost location.
Airbus is setting foot in Tunisia. The aircraft manufacturer has officially announced the construction of a factory under the Aerolia banner, a subsidiary wholly owned by EADS, forty kilometers from Tunis. It will assemble basic parts to be delivered to the assembly lines, particularly in Toulouse. The establishment of this factory, which will cover 10,000 m2, was officially launched with great fanfare on January 28th in Tunis in the presence of the Tunisian Minister of Development, Christian Cornille, president of Aerolia, and Fabrice Brégier, number two at Airbus.
The new subsidiary, which should eventually employ 750 people, worries Airbus employees in Saint-Nazaire and Toulouse. "We are told that it is the excess loads that will be manufactured there, but we realize that it is regional production that is leaving," says an employee. Concretely, this installation allows Airbus to produce in a low-cost zone to remain competitive, while the majority of its costs are still in euros.
first groundbreaking Louis Gallois, head of EADS, had warned that the Tunisian site would specialize in the production of classic parts, leaving the most sophisticated productions, particularly composites, to Europe. But Airbus is not going to settle on the other side of the Mediterranean alone. Aerolia brings with it subcontractors from Toulouse (see below) who will create most of the 750 jobs. They will be located in the twenty-hectare aeronautical park, which can be extended by ten additional hectares in a second phase. The first groundbreaking ceremony should take place by the end of February, with operations starting in 2010. In total, the investment amounts to 60 million euros and should generate more than 1,500 jobs by 2014.
Tunisia is not the only low-cost destination that Airbus and its parent company EADS have chosen to reduce their production costs, as China will also produce wing components that will supply the final assembly plant in Tianjing, which will build four A320s per month. Russia and Mexico will also be used for so-called "classic" productions. India, on the other hand, is seeing the development of an aircraft manufacturer's engineering center.
The Tunisian project was originally carried by the Toulouse-based company Latécoère, which was to directly build this aeronautical park. But when the equipment manufacturer was not selected to buy the Airbus factories in Méaulte and Saint-Nazaire, Airbus was forced to create Aerolia, which took over the entire project. The objective of Aerolia's boss, Christian Cornille, is to attract other clients in addition to Airbus. Clients such as Dassault or Bombardier, and even Boeing, could become Aerolia customers in the future. But many industrialists or political leaders do not lose sight of their idea of creating a world champion in aerostructures. In the long term, a merger between Aerolia, Latécoère and the family-owned company Daher (recent buyer of Socata in Tarbes) could be considered to compete against competitors such as the American Spirit. SME. Aerolia arrives with a pool of suppliers from Toulouse.
Subcontractors land in Tunisia
This was the condition for being selected by Aerolia on the Tunisian project: subcontractors who wanted to be part of the project had to set up in Tunisia. This is what Patrick Razat, the young boss of Mecahers, did. This Tier 1 subcontractor, located in the Toulouse suburbs in Launaguet, has opened its first workshop in Tunisia.
Specializing in precision mechanics, the SME with 250 employees, which has grown after several external growth operations, even created a company at the end of 2008 for its new Tunisian location. Called TMIS for Team Manufacturing Industry and Service, it is 80% controlled by Mecahers and 20% by Sotip, another Toulouse-based company. Their two complementary activities, mechanics, sheet metal work and boilermaking, were among the skills required for the Aerolia project.
300 jobs by 2012
The new company will focus on the assembly of electrical furniture, Mecahers' great specialty, and on the sub-assemblies of aerostructures. Initially, the SME invested in a 1,600 m2 mechanics workshop and is starting its activities with a team of fifteen employees. But by 2012, the objective is to increase the capacity of this site to reach 300 jobs. To finance this establishment, Mecahers raised €5 million last year, notably from the Aerofund investment fund. G.B.
interview
"Tunisian industry is gaining momentum" Selim Hammami, Tunisian consul in Toulouse.
What is the size of the Aerolia project near Tunis? The Tunisian state will create a twenty-hectare aeronautical park in a first phase to accommodate Aerolia and its subcontractors, but also Tunisian aeronautical companies.
What support did Tunis provide for this project? We will take charge of the development of the area. At the same time, Tunisian universities, which train 350,000 students per year, will be able to offer diploma courses from Bac + 2 to Bac + 6 to meet the needs of aeronautical companies.
How many jobs does the aeronautics sector represent in Tunisia? We have about 110,000 industrial jobs in Tunisia. 5% of them depend on aeronautics, but this figure is expected to increase with the growth of our SMEs.
Published on February 18, 2009
Posted online on February 19, 2009
ladepeche.fr
Airbus is setting foot in Tunisia. The aircraft manufacturer has officially announced the construction of a factory under the Aerolia banner, a subsidiary wholly owned by EADS, forty kilometers from Tunis. It will assemble basic parts to be delivered to the assembly lines, particularly in Toulouse. The establishment of this factory, which will cover 10,000 m2, was officially launched with great fanfare on January 28th in Tunis in the presence of the Tunisian Minister of Development, Christian Cornille, president of Aerolia, and Fabrice Brégier, number two at Airbus.
The new subsidiary, which should eventually employ 750 people, worries Airbus employees in Saint-Nazaire and Toulouse. "We are told that it is the excess loads that will be manufactured there, but we realize that it is regional production that is leaving," says an employee. Concretely, this installation allows Airbus to produce in a low-cost zone to remain competitive, while the majority of its costs are still in euros.
first groundbreaking Louis Gallois, head of EADS, had warned that the Tunisian site would specialize in the production of classic parts, leaving the most sophisticated productions, particularly composites, to Europe. But Airbus is not going to settle on the other side of the Mediterranean alone. Aerolia brings with it subcontractors from Toulouse (see below) who will create most of the 750 jobs. They will be located in the twenty-hectare aeronautical park, which can be extended by ten additional hectares in a second phase. The first groundbreaking ceremony should take place by the end of February, with operations starting in 2010. In total, the investment amounts to 60 million euros and should generate more than 1,500 jobs by 2014.
Tunisia is not the only low-cost destination that Airbus and its parent company EADS have chosen to reduce their production costs, as China will also produce wing components that will supply the final assembly plant in Tianjing, which will build four A320s per month. Russia and Mexico will also be used for so-called "classic" productions. India, on the other hand, is seeing the development of an aircraft manufacturer's engineering center.
The Tunisian project was originally carried by the Toulouse-based company Latécoère, which was to directly build this aeronautical park. But when the equipment manufacturer was not selected to buy the Airbus factories in Méaulte and Saint-Nazaire, Airbus was forced to create Aerolia, which took over the entire project. The objective of Aerolia's boss, Christian Cornille, is to attract other clients in addition to Airbus. Clients such as Dassault or Bombardier, and even Boeing, could become Aerolia customers in the future. But many industrialists or political leaders do not lose sight of their idea of creating a world champion in aerostructures. In the long term, a merger between Aerolia, Latécoère and the family-owned company Daher (recent buyer of Socata in Tarbes) could be considered to compete against competitors such as the American Spirit. SME. Aerolia arrives with a pool of suppliers from Toulouse.
Subcontractors land in Tunisia
This was the condition for being selected by Aerolia on the Tunisian project: subcontractors who wanted to be part of the project had to set up in Tunisia. This is what Patrick Razat, the young boss of Mecahers, did. This Tier 1 subcontractor, located in the Toulouse suburbs in Launaguet, has opened its first workshop in Tunisia.
Specializing in precision mechanics, the SME with 250 employees, which has grown after several external growth operations, even created a company at the end of 2008 for its new Tunisian location. Called TMIS for Team Manufacturing Industry and Service, it is 80% controlled by Mecahers and 20% by Sotip, another Toulouse-based company. Their two complementary activities, mechanics, sheet metal work and boilermaking, were among the skills required for the Aerolia project.
300 jobs by 2012
The new company will focus on the assembly of electrical furniture, Mecahers' great specialty, and on the sub-assemblies of aerostructures. Initially, the SME invested in a 1,600 m2 mechanics workshop and is starting its activities with a team of fifteen employees. But by 2012, the objective is to increase the capacity of this site to reach 300 jobs. To finance this establishment, Mecahers raised €5 million last year, notably from the Aerofund investment fund. G.B.
interview
"Tunisian industry is gaining momentum" Selim Hammami, Tunisian consul in Toulouse.
What is the size of the Aerolia project near Tunis? The Tunisian state will create a twenty-hectare aeronautical park in a first phase to accommodate Aerolia and its subcontractors, but also Tunisian aeronautical companies.
What support did Tunis provide for this project? We will take charge of the development of the area. At the same time, Tunisian universities, which train 350,000 students per year, will be able to offer diploma courses from Bac + 2 to Bac + 6 to meet the needs of aeronautical companies.
How many jobs does the aeronautics sector represent in Tunisia? We have about 110,000 industrial jobs in Tunisia. 5% of them depend on aeronautics, but this figure is expected to increase with the growth of our SMEs.
Published on February 18, 2009
Posted online on February 19, 2009
ladepeche.fr
